Burglar-alarm.



. PATENTED MAY 23, 1905. J. E. LIESS.

BURGLAR ALARM.

'APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 1a, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED M Yzs'. 1905., J. E. LIESS. BURGLAB ALARM. APPLICATION FILEDNOV. 13,1903.

2 SEEETSSHEET 2.

Patented May'23, 1905.

'UNITED. ST TES PATENT OFFICE.-

JOHN EDWARD LIESS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BURGLAR-AILARM.

i SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 790,303, dated May23, 1905. I Application filed. November 13, 1903- Serial No. 181,007.

To all whom, it may concern:

- Be it known that I, JOHN EDWARD LIEss, a

citizen of the United States, residing at, Chicago, in the county ofCookand State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement 1n Burglar-Alarms, of whlch the following is a full, clear,concise, and ex- My invention relates to an improvement in electricalburglar-alarm systems, and has for its ob ect a novel arrangementof-electr1cal circults and controlling mechanism whereby cally or at acentral station.

Heretofore in burglar-alarm systems when an alarm was sounded the systemwas incapable of sounding another alarm until placed in normal conditionby an attend ant. Owing to the fact that the circuits employed in suchsystems are broken circuits that is, have many points of contact-such asconnections at doors, windows, vault-entrances, &c., that are oftenbroken'during the day and connected during the night, false alarms duetodust,

bits of paper, or other insulating material.

jolting between the contacts are a fruitful cause of trouble andannoyance. An ordinary wind-storm will shake a building sufficiently tosometimes cause several such false alarms during a night. Breaks in thecurrent that thus soundan alarm are oftentimes momentary; yet heretoforea second alarm could not be sounded until the bell-drop or otherequivalent device had been restored to' its normal condition by anattendant, notwithstanding the break in the circuit corrected itselfalmost immediately. Where also such break in the circuit was of apermanent character, the system was rendered incapable of furtherperforming its-detective function until such break in the circuit waslocated and remedied, frequently necessitating an inspection of theentire system. Furthermore, wheresuch systems were installed in privateresidences and the occupants were away the ringing of the alarmibellsfor such false alarms often constituted amuisance to the neighborhood,the bell s'ou nding 'until the battery was exhausted or until the causeof the alarm was corrected,

as above stated.

My improved burglar-alarm system provides means whereby when a falsealarm occurs, as above described, whether such break in the circuit isof a temporary or permanent character, the alarm will be sounded for apredetermined time, a shorter time in the former casethan in the latter,after which the alarm will cease andthe circuit will automatically beplaced again in normal condition to perform its protective function, thesounding of said alarm and the duration thereof being 2 communicated toa central station. successive alarms may be sounded either My inventionwill be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters indicate like partsthroughout the several figures, and in which Figure 1 is a diagrammaticview of one way of arranging the circuits of myimproved system, showingmechanism for automatically controlling the same. Fig. 2 is a detailedview of a portion of the circuit-controlling device. Fig. 3 is a View ofone way of connecting the circuits of my improved system upon a window.Fig. 4: is an enlarged view of the wheel audits associated parts.

Referring now to the drawings more particularly by reference charactersthe main protective circuit consists of the coils 1 and 2 and includesthe battery 3 and relays 4:, 5,

and 6. This circuit is normally closed, thea window the usual method ofwiring burglaralarm systems. Assuming the window-casing 11, containingthe sashes 12 and 13, to be located at the point 14 in the main circuit,

the conductor 1 being connected with a spring 15, secured to the casing11, said spring maintaining electrical connections with the'plate 16,secured to the sash 12, when the sash is down, the plate 16 beingcarried out of engagement with the spring 15 when the sash 12 is raised,the conductor 2 passes around the casing 11, as shown in Fig. 3, and isconnected upon each side of the window by means of a wire leadingtherefrom with a detent or hook 17, said hook being secured to thecasing 11 and adapted to form electrical connection with the spring 1 5when the plate 16 is carried out of engagement therewith by the raisingof the sash 12, thus forming electrical connection between theconductors 1 and 2 at the point 14.

The operation of my invention with'reference to the method of wiring thepoint to be protected will be hereinafter described.

The plates 16 16 upon the sash 12 are electrically connected by a silverleaf or amalgam conductor 18. It will be understood that the arrangementof the coils 1 and 2 and the method of wiring the window above describedare not essential. A different arrangement of said coils and anysuitable method of connecting the conductors composing the closedcircuit at the point to be protected may be adopted in lieu of thatdescribed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

A relay 19, located in a circuit to be hereafter described, attracts itsarmature 20 against the power of the spring 21, said armature beingpivoted to a suitable support 22 and having an extended portion 23adapted to coact with plates 24 and 25 and contact-points 26 and 27 toclose their respective circuits when the relay 19 is energized. A lever28,

pivoted at 90,- is held in its normal position.

against the pin 28 by a spring 29, the armature 20 when attracted by itsrelay 19 depressing the end of the lever 28 against the power of thespring 29, said spring returning the lever toits normal position afterthe armature has passed the end of the lever, the lever 28 after thearmature 20 has been attracted by its relay and has passed downward bythe endof the lever being adapted to engage the end of the armature 20and hold the armature in such position as to maintain close electricalconnection between the plates 24 and 25 and contact-points 26 and 27after the relay 19 has been deenergized. Any suitable spring-actuatedmovement, as the wheel 30, is adapted by means of arms 31 31 to move thelever 28 against the power of spring 29, the opposite end of the lever28 passing downward and releasing the armature 20 and opening thecircuits controlled by said armature at the contact-points 26 and 27.The wheel carries an arm 32, adapted to move the switch 33 intoconnection with the contactp'oint 34, closing a circuit to behereinafter described. The movement of wheel 30 may be controlled by therelay6 in any suitable manner- I prefer to provide an arm 35, which ispivoted to the armature 8 and has formed upon the opposite end thereof alug 36, adapted to engage the upturned edge of the plate or strip37,.said strip being suitably journaled to revolve with the wheel 30.Any suitable means may be used for causing the plate or strip 37 torevolve with the wheel 30, as the gear-wheels 82, which are adapted tomesh together, one of said wheels being adapted to revolve directly withsaid plate or strip, the other of said wheels being disposed at an anglethereto, the wheel carried by the shaft of the wheel 30 being shown indotted lines. When the relay 6 is deenergized, the spring 38, attachedto the armature 8, carries the lug 36 upon the arm 35 out of engagementwith the strip 37, thus permitting the wheel 30 to revolve. The relay 6is not of suliicient strength to move the armature 8, but is ofsufiicient strength to retain same in position when the armature iscarried into contact therewith. To carry the armature 8 into contactwith relay 6 and to bring the lug 36 into engagement with the extendedends of the strip 37, thus stopping the rotation of the wheel 30, Iprovide suitable arms 39 upon the wheel 30, adapted to engage the end ofa pivoted arm or lever 40, the opposite end of said lever coacting witha piece 41, attracted to the arm 35 and having a slot 42 formed therein,said slot permitting a slight vertical movement of the arm 35. The arm39 upon the Wheel 30 carries the lower end of the pivoted lever to theright, the opposite end thereof engaging the piece 41, thus raising thearm 35 and carrying the armature 8 into engagement with the relay 6, thelug 36 dropping into engagement with the extended ends of the strip 37,stopping the wheel 30 from rotating.

Contact-points 43, adapted to engage a contact-breaker 44, are providedupon the wheel 30, said contact-breaker 44 closing a circuit consistingof the conductor 45, battery 70, relay 48, and conductor 46, saidcircuit being adapted to notify a distant or central station of themovement of wheel 30 in any suitable manner, preferably by the tapeticker or register 47, the armature 49 of the relay 48 cooperating withthe contact-point 72 to cause the L-shaped armature 73, which is pivotedat 74 of the relay 75, which is located in a local circuit consisting ofbattery 76, relay 75, conductor 77, and armature 49, to bring the pin orimpression member 79 into contact with the tape 80 to form charactersthereon or indent the same in the usual manner. The ticker or register47 may be connected in a groundcircuit with the wheel 30, if desired, bymeans of conductor 50, movement 30, contact-points 43, contact-breaker44, and conductors and 51, including the battery 81 and'relay 48. .Itwill be understood that any suitable centralstation apparatus may beused in lieu of that described. The contact-points 43 may be placed atintervals about the periphery of the wheel 30, the number anddisposition thereon of said points being adapted to notify the centralstation of the duration of the movement of the wheel 30, thus indicatingthenature of the alarm, whether said alarm" is a false alarm, as abovedescrlbed, or a permanent break in the circuit.

their respective coacting lever or switch.

The arm 32, carried by the wheel 30, is also adapted to open the switch52, which opens the bell-circuit and stops the bell from ringing, aswill be hereinafter described.

The particular method of controlling'the circuits at contact-points 26and 27 is-not es- Any suitable means controlled by the wheel 30 foropening and closing said cir' sential.

.cuits may be adaptedin lieu of that above described.

The operation of my invention is as follows:- Should the main protectivecircuit (represented by conductors 1 and 2) be broken, as

by the opening of avault-door or the accumulation'of'dirt orothernon-conducting material-between the plate 16 and the spring 15, asshown in Fig. 3, the relay 5 would be denergized and its armature 7 7would be brought into contact by means of the spring 53 with thecontact-point 54,-completing a circuit through the bell 55, which may betraced from the armature 7 through the conductor 56, relay 19, switch52, battery 57, through the bell 55 to the-armature 7; At the same timethe relay 6 would release its armature, and the lug 36 upon the arm 35would be carried out of engagement with the strip-37, permitting themovement to run, the wheel 30 moving from left to right. ,The relay.19would attract its armature 20, the extended portion 23 being held infirm en: gagement with plates 24 and, 25, by the lever 28,.as shown bydotted lines. A circuit would thusbe closed from the contact-point 27,.through the conductor 58, conductor 2, battery 3, relays 5' and 4,conductors 1 and 59 to the contact-point 27.' It will be seenthat shouldthe break in the main circuit 1 and 2 be of a temporary character, as.by dirt or dust becoming lodged between the" contacts, and" should suchbreak in the main circuit correct itself at once the circuit justdescribed would again energize the relay 5 and withdraw the armature 7from the contact-point 54, placing the apparatus in conditiontoreceiveanother alarm; The bell 55, however,

would continue to sound until the armature 20v was released by the-lever28 and the arm' 31 upon the wheel 30,- the bell-circuitafter thearmature 20 is attracted being in shunt about therelay 19 and beingtraced fromthe contact-point 26 through conductor 60, bell 55, conductor56, battery 57, switch 52, and

conductor 61 to contact-point 26. Assuming thefalse alarm or temporaryinterruption in I the main circuit above described to'ha've correcteditself at once, it will be seen that the hell would continue to sounduntil the arm 31 upon the wheel 30, coacting with the lever 28, releasedthe armature-20, which would be 'withdrawn by the spring 21, thusopening movement controller 37, thus locking the wheel 30 againstfurther rotation. It will be seen that. the device would then be incondition to receive another alarm. Any number of such false alarms maybe provided for, depending upon the number of arms 31 and 39 upon thewheel 30, and the wheel 30 may be geared to allow any desired timeinterval during which the bell will sound before the device isautomatically reset, as above described; The contact-points 43'upon thewheel may bearranged thereon to indicate the character of the break orinterruption in the protective circuit at the central station or anysuitable method ofnotifying the central station'of the rotation of thewheel 30 may beadapted in lieu of the points 43 and contact-breaker 44.Should the break in the conductor 1 be of a permanent'character, as thebreaking of the glass 62in the sash 12, the wheel 30 would 'revolve asbefore, the arms 31 and 39 successively restoring the apparatus to itsnormal condition and the permanent-break in the circuit, resounding thealarm as thearms 31 and 39 .pass the points ofcontact with their re-vspective levers 28 and 40. This would-con: tinue until the arm 32,carried by thewheel 30, came in contact with and closed the switch 33;,thusv completing a secondary protective. circuit consisting of theswitch. 33, conductor 63', relays 4'and 5, battery 3, conductor 2, relay6, and conductors 1 and 59,-to contact-,

point 34. :Itwill be seen that this secondary protective circuit againenergizes the'relays 4, 5, and 6, stops the bell from sounding, and

resets the device to receive another alarm, notwhere saidconductorcrosses a window-pane,

as shown in Fig. 3.- Let the sash 12 of another window located at thepoint 14 in said I circuit be raised. The plate 16 would be ca'rdescribed, are not essential.

ried out of engagement with the spring 15, which would form electricalconnection with the detent or hook 17, thus short-circuiting the relay 6by means of a circuit consisting of the battery 3, relays 5 and 4,conductor 63, switch 38, conductors 59 and 1, spring 15, hook 17, andconductor 2 to battery 3. The relay 6 being thus short-circuited, therelay 4: would attract its armature, completing a circuit through thebell from contact-point 64 through conductors 65 and 56, relay l9,switch 52, battery 57, and conductor 56 to the contact-point 64.

Should the short-circuiting of the relay 6 occur at the point 67 in themain protective conductors, the circuit would be from battery 3 throughrelays 5'and 4E, conductor 1, spring 15, contact-plate 17, conductor 2to battery 3. In such case the same bell-circuit above describedwould'be closed by the point 64 and armature 9 of the relay 4. It willbe understood that after a permanent break in the main protectiveconductor 1 protection is afforded upon either side of said break byreason of the circuits above described and that an alarm will be soundedwhen the conductors 1 and 2 are short-circuited or crossed, as abovedescribed, notwithstanding the break in the conductor 1. The preciselocation of the break in the conductor 1 and the relative locations ofthe crossing of conductors 1 and 2, as above The break in conductor 1may occur at any point and the crossing of conductors 1 and 2 to producethe secondary protective circuits, as above described, may occurapproximately near or at a distance from the break in the conductor 1.

If the short circuits above described as occurring at the points 14 and67 were of a per manent character, the alarm would sound for apredetermined time or until the movement 30, which would be set inmotion when the relay 6 was short circuited, as above described, carriedthe arm 32 upon the wheel 30 into engagement with the switch 52, saidswitch opening the bell-circuit and stopping the sounding of the alarm.

It will be noted that I have shown and described a normally-closedcircuit, which I have referred to as the primary circuit, and a normallyopen circuit system which I have designated as the secondary circuit. Itwill be understood that while I have shown and described a normallyclosed circuit as the primary circuit and a normally open circuit as thesecondary circuit that this arrangement is not essential and that anyother arrangement of circuits whereby a primary circuit is provided andafterward the system is automatically changed and a secondary circuit isbrought into use may be adapted in lieu of the particular circuitarrangement herein described.

By internal abnormal conditions of the protective circuits I wish to beunderstood as meaning the false alarms referred to above, and byexternally-caused abnormal conditions I wish to be understood as meaningabnormal conditions caused by the dangers said circuits are designed toprotect against.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a primaryprotective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted to respond to abnormalconditions of said circuit, a secondary protective circuit, and meansfor antomatically substituting said secondary protective circuit forsaid primary circuit.

2. In an electric burglary-alarm system, the combination with a primaryprotective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted to respond to abnormalconditions of said circuit, a secondary protective circuit, and meansfor antomatically substituting said secondary protective circuit forsaid primary circuit, said alarm-sounder being adapted to respond toabnormal conditions of said secondary protective circuit.

3. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a normallyclosed primary protective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted torespondto abnormal conditions of said circuit, a secondary protectivecircuit, and means for automatically substituting said secondaryprotective circuit for said primary circuit, when said primary circuithas been permanently broken.

1. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a primaryprotective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted to respond to abnormalconditions of said circuit, means for automatically stopping thesounding of said alarm-sounder, a secondary protective circuit, andmeans for automatically substituting said secondary protective circuitfor said primary circuit.

5. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a primaryprotective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted to respond to successivetemporary abnormal conditions of said circuit, means associated withsaid circuit for automatically stopping the sounding of saidalarm-sounder after each of said successive temporary abnormalconditions, a secondary protective circuit, and means for automaticallysubstituting said secondary protective circuit for said primary circuit.

6. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a normallyclosed primary protective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted torespond to successive temporary abnormal conditions of said circuit,means associated with said circuit for automatically stopping thesounding of said alarm-soumler after each of said successive temporaryabnormal conditions, a secondary protective circuit, and means forautomatically substituting said secondary protective circuit for saidprimary circuit, when a permanent abnormal condition occurs therein.

-7. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a normallyclosed primary protective-circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapt-.

ed to respond to successive temporary abnormal conditions of saldcircuit, means associated w1th sald c1r cu1t for automatically stoppingthe sounding of said alarm-sounder after each of said successivetemporary abnormal conditions, a secondary protective circuit, and meansfor automat1cally substituting said secondary protective circuit formary circuit when a permanent abnormal condition occurs therein, said.alarm-sounder being adapted to respond to-abnormal conditions in saidsecondary protective circuit, and means for automatically stopping'thesounding of said alarm-sounder after a predetermined time.

9. In an electric burglar-alarm system, the combination with a primaryprotective circuit, of an alarm-sounder adapted to respond to abnormalconditions of said circuit, a secondary protective circuit, means forautomatically substituting said secondary protective'circuit for saidprimary circuit, said alarm sounder being adapted to respond to abnormalconditions in said secondary protective circuit, -a suitablecentral-station apparatus, and means adapted to transmit to saidcentral-station apparatus the condition of said primaryand saidsecondary protective circuits.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name inthe presence oftwo Witnesses.

J. EDWARD LIESS.

Witnesses:

DAVID B. LYMAN, J r., L. W. MAY.

